Fallbrook water district echoes call for conservation

FALLBROOK - Utility district officials said Tuesday they'll ask
their customers as soon as next week to cut back on water usage by
20 gallons per day as part of a regional effort to offset projected
water shortages.

Keith Lewinger, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility
District, said the agency is following the San Diego County Water
Authority's lead in asking customers to cut back.

"We're part of the water authority family, and we need to cut
back just like everybody else," Lewinger said. "We're going to be
working with the water authority to get the message out. We expect
that their public information program will probably start up as
soon as next week."

The indefinite cutbacks are being caused by drought along the
Colorado River and a decision by state wildlife officials to close
key pipeline pumps in Northern California on May 31 due to an
endangered species, the delta smelt.

"Both of those issues are in play right now, and the combination
of the two of them are causing the situation we're in," Lewinger
said, adding that more rainfall wouldn't necessarily mean the end
of the conservation effort. "If a judge says you can't run the
pumps, then it doesn't matter how much it rains."

He added that the cutbacks are voluntary at this point, so
customers won't be penalized for not complying.

The Fallbrook district buys all of its water from the water
authority and then sells it to customers in Fallbrook and De
Luz.

Lewinger said the request to cut back will be accompanied by a
list of simple things customers can do to reduce their water
usage.

"Running the dishwasher only when it's full, not leaving the
water running when you're washing the dishes or brushing your
teeth, (and) fixing leaky toilets and faucets," he said in
describing some of the suggestions.

The district also will issue a list of ways to reduce outdoor
water use, such as watering only in the evenings or early
morning.

"You should not water between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., when the sun's
out, because you're going to lose water to evaporation, and the
wind picks up, so you're going to lose some to overspray," he
said.

Twenty gallons per person may sound like a lot, but Lewinger
said it's not as tough as it sounds.

"You do some of these things, and it adds up to a lot of water,"
he said. "The list is long of things a family can do. It adds up
very quickly."

The district most recently asked Fallbrook customers to conserve
when two pipelines carrying drinking water into San Diego County
were shut down last November.

Agricultural customers in De Luz bore the brunt of that
conservation effort, however, because delivering water to the
sprawling rural community north of Fallbrook when the pipelines are
closed is difficult and because reserves were full, so residential
customers were not asked to cut back.

This time, the roles are reversed, as agricultural customers are
not being asked to conserve, Lewinger said.